Is Bobby Valentine for real? The Globe’s Peter Abraham writes that since being named Sox manager on November 29, he has passed through 14 time zones, going from Japan to New York to Boston (to formally announce the job) to the Dominican Republic and then back home to Connecticut to repack for a flight to Texas and the winter meetings.
“I’m fuzzy,” Abraham quotes Valentine as saying. “But I think it’s that thing called jet lag. It’s 3 o’clock in the morning and I want to go exercise.” He also says “I hate the Yankees…I told Joe Girardi that I used to love them and now I hate them.”
At the meetings, his presence attracted crowds with cellphones snapping photos. Red Sox fans were all around him. “People have been incredibly nice,” he says. At a luncheon, nine seats were available at V’s table, not nearly enough. His open press conference drew 14 cameras.
Valentine has already spoken with the embattled Josh Beckett and some other players widely held responsible for the 2011 slide. Of his conversation with Beckett, he responded “I’m not going to say anything other than after he got through telling me how pissed off he was, we had a really good conversation.” He spoke of players’ responsibility for physical conditioning and feels that those players that he talked to or left messages with understand that some of the Sox “let it get away.”
There seems to be praise everywhere, even from Girardi. “Bobby adds some spunk to his clubs, there’s no doubt about it….It should be exciting.” GM Ben Cherington, who it is rumored did not want Valentine and was overruled by Larry Lucchino, is saying “I think that we complement each other.”
Yes, it does seem to good to be true. But it is very early. It will be interesting to see what happens over the next few weeks, especially if some criticisms appear from players or writers. One thing is sure-the Sox have not had a manager like this since the late Dick Williams.
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